Forever Yours
by Karkalicious769
Summary: John and Dave have been best friends since kindergarten, despite all the bad events that seem to follow John everywhere. But after waking up from a car accident, John suddenly acquires the ability to tell when someone is going to die. Will their friendship last at all or turn into something more? Rated T because this is Homestuck and no one knows how to censor themselves.


**Based on the book "**_**Numbers**_**" by Rachel Ward, even though I've never heard of it.  
So, uh, anyway, I was going to post this on April 13th, but I didn't finish in time, so now I'm uploading it today for my friend's birthday (which was actually yesterday), even though she probably won't like this story because it's a fluff instead of a sadstuck. But whatever.**

* * *

**Third Person/John's P.O.V.**

When John Egbert opened his eyes for the first time, he blinked once and smiled, overcome with a sudden wave of happiness and joy, as if there was nothing wrong with the world.

Of course, he would be told all that by his dad when he got older, but being just a baby, he had no idea that his mother had died; bled out on the hospital bed soon after he was born. John didn't cry though, he smiled and giggled and played with his father's fingers, which seemed impossibly large next to his tiny fists. His father would remember thinking about how ironic it was as he looked down at John through his tear filled eyes. Not only had his son inherited all of his mother's looks, but he didn't cry or scream or fight the entire three days he was kept at the hospital, which was unusual for a newborn, especially considering the circumstance.

However, John did know that something was wrong, as babies often do. There was supposed to be a female there, he knew that much. He knew that there was supposed to be warm arms at night to hold him and not the cold metal bars that circled the crib he used at the hospital. Distantly, he thought about where that heartbeat had gone. The soft, sweet heartbeat that had lulled him to sleep at night and comforted him while awake for nine solid months.

He didn't think about it for long, as, again, he was only a baby, and had no way of knowing that this was only the beginning.

When John Egbert was six years old, he started preschool. He was excited to finally attend this place that he had heard so much about and was glad that he had the opportunity to make new friends. His dad dropped him off, dressed in his customary suit of white, and he told John how proud of him he was, hugged him, ruffled his hair affectionately, and left. This wasn't unusual behavior for his dad though, so John didn't let it get to him.

Grinning from ear to ear, John greeted the teacher, as his dad had called her, and found out that she preferred to be called Mrs. V, which was easy to remember with his tiny six year old brain.

She had seemed surprised to see that he had come without the help of his dad and one glance at all of the kids crying and clutching their mother's skirts was all it took for him to understand why. She smiled at him always and pointed him towards a circle shaped carpet filled with other kids and told him to try and make some friends while she greeted everyone else.

He nodded at her and marched off to the colorful carpet without another word. Once there, he looked for a kid like himself, all alone and not talking to anyone.

It didn't take long, and he soon spotted a blonde kid sitting in the corner by himself. He was wearing a red and white t-shirt with black pants and matching shoes and kept touching his pointed glasses, as if he was afraid they would fall off. Putting a little spring in his step, John bolted over to the boy and, though he couldn't see his eyes through the glasses, or "shades" as he would later learn, he could tell that the kid was looking at him.

"Hi, I'm John Egbert!" He greeted with his future trade mark grin. The corner of the boy's mouth twitched, like he was suppressing a smile, and he turned his head to full face John.

"I'm Dave Strider." He said flatly, and they talked until the teacher called "Circle Time." They sat next to each other on the colorful carpet and grinned at each other, because they were only six year old's and had no idea what fate held in store for them.

When John Egbert was eleven years old, he stood in front of a vary large building. Well, at least it looked that way to him. It was January 4th and it was his first day back at middle school. His dad had just dropped him off and was peeling out of the school's parking lot the last time John had looked. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward, merging with the crowd of other kids that were all surging into the school. Some were talking and laughing with their friends and others, like him, were alone, walking mechanically into the building, only half awake, if that.

Scanning the crowds for a familiar head of blonde hair, John found the next best thing and pushed his way towards her, muttering apologizes when he stepped on someone accidentally with his two left feet.

"Jade!" he called, finally close enough that she could her him. Said girl looked over to see who had called her and her face lit up.

"John!" she waved, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly once he managed to come to a stop beside her, "I haven't seen you in forever," she continued as if they hadn't been comparing schedules just the other day, "How's my favorite cousin been doing?" she asked.

"Jade, you just saw me yesterday." he pointed out, smirking next to her, "And we're not cousins, that was only something we said as kids." She opened her mouth to protest but something over his shoulder caught her eye and she smiled.

"Okay, hold that thought." she said as a conversation holder, darting across the hallway and falling in step next to Karkat, who suddenly looked surprisingly happy for a Karkat on a Monday. John choked back a laugh. It was hilarious how much those two liked each other even though they had pretty much hated each other just a month ago. It's funny what a bucket full of water balanced carefully over a doorway can do for somebody's relationships.

Giggling softly at the memory despite himself, John unlocked his locker, number 413 same as his birthday, and emptied the necessities out of his backpack. His schedule for the new semester said that all he needed for the first day back was a #2 pencil, so he grabbed one of the pre-sharpened ones and stuck it behind his ear so that he had full use of his hands, grabbing a spiral notebook just in case.

Feeling pretty proud of himself, John made his way to his first period, English, which was in room 33 if his memory was correct. He always had problems remembering the simplest of things. Navigating through the thinning crowds with ease thanks to his tiny stature, John found that he was the first kid to get to class. Well, one of the first. The holder of that title would be a certain shade wearing Strider.

Grinning, John made his way over to Dave and claimed the seat next to him, happy to see that his friend was wearing the custom shades he had gotten him for his birthday just over a month ago.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, even though it was pretty clear that he was going to no matter what Dave said as a rsponce. Deciding to play along, Dave smirked.

"I don't know Egbert," he said casually, "it's such a high honor to sit next to me and I don't know if you're worthy, being as derpy as you are and all." John pretended to look hurt at the comment.

"But if I'm not worthy to sit next the Strider then my life is meaningless," he covered his face with one hand and tilted his head up towards the ceiling dramatically, "I will have to live in exile!"

Dave smirked and opened his mouth, probably to tease him more about being a dork or something of the like, when the teacher ran into the room. The teacher was a guy and wore black slacks with a white t-shirt under a pressed black jacket buttoned up and straining over his large stomach, but for the life of him, John could not remember his name even though he had been his teacher for nearly four months.

"You're John Egbert, right?" the teacher asked hurriedly, looking slightly out of breath, as if he had ran here from the other side of the school. Apparently the teacher was bad with names too. Feeling a bit uneasy, John nodded, Dave momentarily forgotten.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" he asked nervously. The teacher rested a steady hand on his shoulder.

"It's your dad. We just got word that he was killed in a car pile up. The police will be here soon to talk to you. I'm so sorry."

And John, feeling numb, barely noticed when he began crying, only that everything was suddenly warm and that Dave had grabbed him, hugging him tightly and shushing into his ear softly. Distantly, John noticed that Dave smelled faintly of apples but he wouldn't remember such a small detail later, just the feeling of the cotton material gripped between his fingers as he held on tighter, feeling like if he let go then the few remains of his life would disappear. Somehow, he knew that this wasn't the end of it, but that thought just made him cry harder and he didn't dwell on it for long.

When John Egbert was sixteen years old, he decided to go over to Dave's house. He had been extremely bored, just sitting on his couch and watching old reruns of Spongebob that weren't even funny anymore, when Dave had messaged him on Pesterchum, inviting him over. The conversation had gone kinda like this:

\- turntechGodhead began pestering ectoBiologist at 3: 54 pm -  
EB: oh hey dave!  
EB: whats up? :B  
TG: not much  
TG: im bored as hell and my bro is out for the day  
TG: so I just wanted to see if the legendary egderp would grace me with his presence  
EB: hmm, I dunno dave  
EB: im in the middle of an epic adventure and it really should take priority over all else  
EB: including friendship  
TG: john  
TG: we both know that you're just sitting there  
TG: on your couch  
TG: in your ghostbusters boxers  
TG: waiting for my reply  
EB: true  
EB: but isn't that an adventure in its own right?  
TG: just get your ass over here  
EB: fine  
EB: give me 10 minutes to get dressed and walk  
EB: see ya  
TG: ill be waiting  
\- turntechGodhead ceased pestering ectoBiologist at 4: 03 pm -

Smiling fondly at Dave's parting message, John exited out of the Pesterchum app on his phone and placed it on the couch before pushing up into a standing position and making his way to his bedroom. He grabbed a plain white shirt out of his open dresser and pulled on a pair of casual blue jeans. As a second thought, he grabbed a brush from his nightstand and ran it through his hair a few times, hoping to smooth out his cowlicks. It didn't work, but he hadn't really expected it to.

With that done, he jogged back into the living room-ish area and pulled on his old black tennis shoes, which he had dumped next to the couch just the day before after getting home from work late and passing out on the couch. He really should get a new pair, but he was already working two jobs just to afford his apartment (one of the requirements he had to meet in order to stay out of the orphanage) and besides, his birthday was coming up soon, in just one month actually. Maybe he could convince one of his friends to get him a new pair.

Grabbing his jacket from the hanger by his door, John shrugged it on and zipped up to his chin before stepping outside, as it was only March and the chill of the previous winter still hung in the air. He hummed a happy tune that he couldn't remember hearing and locked the door behind him, shoving his hands in his pockets for warmth. Dave only lived about two blocks away in a separate apartment building and he had visited so many times that John was positive that he could have found his way there while blindfolded. He didn't particularly want to try that though, and he began walking.

He passed only a few people on the streets, as most people preferred to use their cars no matter what the weather. There was one woman jogging and another walking her dog (which John stopped to pet), and there was also a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk up against one of the buildings. Out of pity and sympathy, he handed the man a precious ten dollar bill, smiled at him, and continued on his way.

He could see his destination across the street now. He was so close that he could see Dave through the glass doors, sitting in one of the many plush seats in the apartment building's foyer, waiting patiently for him, pretending to be totally emerged in his phone as always. He smiled and waved at his friend, and the elusive Strider waved back, a smirk tugging at his lips. Looking both ways to make sure that the street was empty, John continued humming as he crossed the street, walking quickly but not quite running.

Maybe that was why this all happened in the first place. Because John refused to hurry up.

When he was about halfway across the street, there was a sudden squeal of tires, like a car trying desperately to brake. Against his better judgment, John froze in his tracks, turning towards the sound. Either he was incredibly slow or the car was just that fast, but the next thing John knew, there was a black Mustang no more then five feet away from him.

He closed his eyes and braced for impact, and suddenly he felt the wind get knocked out of his lungs as the car hit him head on, knocking him back what felt like a mile with the force of the impact. Everything hurt, and his head was killing him after slamming into the pavement so harshly.

The edges of his vision were going dark and the things he could once see clearly were blurred beyond recognition. Distantly, John wondered how he was even still conscious after a hit like that and he smirked unknowingly at the thought. There was the sudden feeling of someone running, and not a moment later, Dave dropped to his knees on the ground next to his fallen figure, pulling John close and lifting his head of the ground, yelling something he couldn't hear, as his hearing was momentarily gone.

For some reason, the blonde wasn't wearing his shades and John couldn't help but feel like the ruby red of his eyes was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. They glittered with unshed tears and revealed a kaleidoscope of emotions, something his shades never did. They flashed with sadness, fear, anger, and one that John didn't recognize.

Of course, John would remember nothing of this when he woke up. His mind had already begun shutting down from the moment he hit the ground, so as to heal his body quicker and more effectively. And so, when John smiled and Dave pulled him closer, the only one who would remember the short, sweet kiss they shared in a moment of delirium would be the heartbroken Strider, who took the gesture from his secret crush as a long-awaited yet currently undesired goodbye present.

When John Egbert was seventeen, he awoke in a hospital room. He couldn't remember what had happened or why he was there, just that something bad had happened, based on the terrible pain in his body and the bandages he could feel squeezing his chest. Luckily, it was at that moment that the nurse, a pretty woman with black hair who had clearly had more than one kid, came in to refill his IV. She gasped when she saw him, awake and clearly upset with all the needles in his arm. She rushed over to him and asked him a few questions he didn't answer before excusing herself and leaving to go get the actual doctor.

Normally, he wouldn't have been so rude as to ignore a nurse like that, but something was bothering him. When he had made eye contact with the women, numbers had appeared in the corner of his vision. Eight numbers to be exact, all in bright red text. He had stared at them the entire time she talked, but they didn't move or fade. They just showed a time.

**23: 15: 04: 32**

That's what it had read. The two numbers on the end kept changing, counting down actually, like a clock. It was unnerving to say the least, but hopefully it had just been a crazy side effect of all the pain killers they had most likely put him on. It was at that moment that the doctor entered. He was a tall, good-looking middle aged man, though he could certainly do with less donuts. He began saying something rapidly to John, and he heard the words "four broken ribs and a leg", "a coma", "two months", "extremely lucky", "car crash", "paid bill", and a bunch of other things he didn't care about at the moment. Once again, he was much too focused on the red numbers in the corner.

They were counting down, and there was only two of them this time.

**21  
20  
19  
18**

They dropped one every second. Clearly, they were counting down, but to what? For some reason, he felt uneasy and... afraid? Yes, he was definitely afraid of the numbers and what even they meant. He hugged himself tightly, watching the numbers tick down but not knowing what to do about it. The doctor, who John would never know the name of, kept on talking, oblivious of the inner turmoil his patient was experiencing.

**11  
10  
9  
8**

Those eight seconds felt like an eternity. Without warning, the doctor suddenly ceased up, not able to talk or scream for help. John watched, horrified and frozen to the bed as his body slumped to the ground and his eyes went deathly pale, a small trickle of saliva leaking out of the corner of his mouth. Somehow, John knew he was dead. Maybe it was intuition or common sense, but it probably had something to do with the flashing red number that now fully consumed his vision.

**0**

The giant zero blinked once, and was gone. The nurse entered the room again and saw the dead man on the floor. She screamed and ran off, shouting something about a heart attack as she ran, but all John was aware of was the steady set of numbers she had left in her wake.

**23: 14: 57: 46**

He wished he wouldn't have to be there when that clock reached zero. Once was enough. But like everything else in his life, this was only the first death he would witness. There would be many, many more.

When John Egbert was eighteen years old, he realized a horrible, blinding truth. He had been hanging out with his small group of friends, meaning Dave, Jade, and Rose, and they had all been hanging out in Jade's room for one of their traditional weekend movie nights. That day had been Jade's turn to host and devise a movie list that would last until the last person fell asleep.

Before it had been Dave's turn, and before that it was Rose's, and before that was John's, which everyone (except him :B) secretly hated but they all adored his snack spread to much to say so. Anyway, they had just begun watching the first movie when Jade's grandpa interrupted to borrow one of their several beanbag chairs for whatever weird old person reasons he had this time. She, for whatever reason, pushed John of of his and handed the blue sack of amazingness (as John called it) to her grandpa and sent him away with a kiss on the cheek.

**06: 02: 04: 16: 43: 47**

That was what his numbers read. He had to remember to comfort Jade in six months. Still, about half an entire year before her grandpa died. He had time before the clock reached zero.

Ignoring the numbers of both Jade and Rose, as he so often did now, the next five minutes were spent with John complaining about having to sit on the cold, hard ground while he accused Jade of treason and Rose laughed silently into her hand until, finally, Dave sighed and moved over, making space for John on his bean bag.

Ignoring the derp's many protests, the blonde pulled him down onto the seat and told Jade to resume playing, pretending not to hear the many curse words and profanities John muttered under his breath.

At some point during the middle of the movie, John grasped that, though there had been plenty of space between him and Dave during the beginning of the movie, they had both moved towards each other as it played and now he was resting his head on Dave's shoulder while his friend had one arm wrapped around his waist, keeping him close.

Realizing that, strangely, he didn't mind the position or cuddles at all, John looked up at Dave. He had never seen Dave's numbers, probably because it required eye contact, which was something that his shades prevented. Part of him was glad he couldn't see Dave's numbers, it would have made him act differently around him and he didn't want to make Dave think he hated him or anything, but on the other hand, he was so used to knowing people's death time that not knowing made him uneasy.

But at the moment, it appeared that Dave was unaware that his shades were strangely loose, even though they were normally plastered right against his face. It was too dark in the room to see the color, but using the light from the T.V., John could just barely make out Dave's eyes. It was so much easier from the side. At there it was. The numbers were in the corner of his vision now and somehow, he knew they were Dave's. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and looked at them.

**06: 12: 45: 37**

His eyes widened in surprise. That number couldn't be right, it had to be wrong. Less then one week? He had already seen his own numbers by looking in the mirror. He had another seventy two years before he died and yet Dave had only a week. It just wasn't fair.

He tried and failed to imagine his life without Dave in it, not wanting to think about it. He knew that Rose and Jade would live until just after he was gone himself, but that wasn't important in the least. It was then that John realized the truth. The feelings he had whenever he thought about Dave dead was more than "just friends". No, it was then that he realized he was in love with Dave. He had been trying to avoid the thought for many sleepless nights, but it was too late to ignore his feelings now. Only a week... Well, better make the most of it.

"Hey Dave?" John asked, pressing his cheek into his friend's shoulder and bringing his legs up to his chest, hugging them tightly.

"Yeah?" he responded, looking over at John and giving him his undivided attention, ignoring the movie. Without saying anything, he released his legs and placed both hands on either side of Dave's face, bringing him in closer and kissing him, completely forgetting about their audience.

At first, Dave didn't respond and John was afraid that he had done something wrong, but then he seemed to realize what was happening and he smiled into the kiss, wrapping his arms around John's waist and kissing back just as passionately, choosing not to respond on the fact that John was crying the entire time. It's safe to say that no one in that room remembers how the movie ended, for it was at that moment John finally recognized exactly how much he loved Dave.

(It wasn't long after that when Jade and Rose suddenly became obsessed with homosexual couples in their manga/anime. Hmm, what a coincidence.)

When John Egbert was eighteen and a half years old, he attended a funeral. He had gone suit shopping with Jade the other day, and she had picked out a lovely, floor length black gown that brought out her already noticeable green eyes and looked absolutely flawless against her pale skin. John had gone for something simpler. A regular black suit with a white button up undershirt and a generic blue tie. The funeral wasn't something special, it was going to be small and dressing up made it feel like some sort of party, which was disrespectful in his opinion.

He had opted to ride alone to the funeral house at first, but Jade had asked if she could join him and he just didn't have the heart to say no to her, especially with that kicked puppy look she was giving him. The car drive was long and awkward. Jade refused to respond to his obvious attempts at conversation, and he gave up sooner than he usually would. He understood how she was feeling, and all of his failed attempts were starting to really annoy him too.

Finally, they arrived at the funeral home. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, which was understandable. Jade may have been a social butterfly, but she insisted on inviting only the people who would actually care. The guest list had been short as a result, and only about twenty people would be there. As John got out of the car, someone suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump out of surprise. Turning, he saw Rose looking at him with concern, Kanaya, her girlfriend, waiting patiently for Rose at the entrance to the building. They had gotten together officially just a few months ago and everyone was so relieved. It was much easier watching them be romantic public then trying to do it in private.

"Are you okay?" she asked, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly. He just nodded at her, gesturing to Jade, who was mopping around by the car.

"I'm fine." he said, "You should go comfort Jade, she was really close to him."

Rose gave him a long, calculated look and he could literally feel her picking apart his brain mentally. Finally, she simply said, "So were you." and, giving him a hesitant smile, walked away, wrapping an arm around Jade and rubbing soothing circles in her back while the girl cried. John felt like crying himself, but when ever he did his face got all red and puffy, so he decided to wait until tonight, when he was alone in his room.

Shuffling towards the entrance, John realized that there was someone who had not arrived, though he had agreed to come the second Jade asked him. Deciding that he was just a bit late, as always, John moved into the lobby of the building where people were helping themselves to the large spread and talking quietly in small groups. John roamed from group to group for a good ten minutes, but every topic was the same: today's funeral service. Finally, John gave up trying to approach a different topic and leaned against the wall with his back to the entrance, bored, waiting for the ceremony to start.

"Hey, you okay?" someone whispered in his ear, clearly out of breath by the way their voice rasped. John shivered slightly as his body tingled with the sound of that voice and he turned to the blonde, smiling hesitantly despite the depressing atmosphere in the air.

"Hi, Dave." he greeted, avoiding the question on purpose and giving his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek to distract him. "Glad you finally decided to show up."

**(Oh, wait. Did you think this was Dave's funeral? HA! Fooled ya, but don't worry, all of this will make perfect sense later)**

"Yeah, my alarm clock didn't go off, so I just barely made it in time," he explained, wrapping his arms around John's waist from behind him, "I already apologized to Harley, but I swear that Rose hadn't been holding her back, she would have killed me." He joked lightly, causing John to grin, leaning back and placing the back of his head on Dave's chest.

"Still, I find it comforting with how much she cares." John mused, remembering his father's funeral. It had been small, though bigger than this one, and he had cried throughout the entire ceremony. He barely remembered his father now, though sometimes he would wake up in the morning and smell bacon and pancakes and cake cooking in the kitchen, only to go investigate and find nothing. Dave smiled down softly at him, trying not to laugh, as if he had just said something adorably stupid.

"Well, duh, it is her grandpa. You know, the man who single-handedly raised her and taught her everything she knows." John smirked and rolled his eyes at Dave, pulling away.

"You know what I meant. Always the sarcastic one, aren't you?" he teased, looking past Dave and towards the front doors. Jade had just entered, Rose and Kanaya at her side, and though she looked much calmer than before, it was clear to anyone who knew her, a.k.a. everyone in the room, that she had been crying. Talking loudly and clearly despite how much she clearly wanted to melt into the floor and cry in peace, she directed everyone to head outside to witness the burial and reading of the will.

The burial was incredibly depressing, and more than just Jade cried. The will was a bit more lighthearted, though not by much. Apparently, Jade's grandpa left everything to her, which was a shock to no one. She had responded by crying into the handkerchief her grandpa her given her as a birthday present while Karkat, her boyfriend, shushed her softly and held her.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, John reached over and held Dave's hand under the chairs. His boyfriend responded by squeezing gently and rubbing little circles in the back of his hand, raising a questioning eyebrow at his sudden act of affection. John just smiled at him.

"I'm glad it wasn't you in that casket." he said quietly. Instantly, Dave's expression softened and he pulled John into a hug, gingerly placing his arms around his waist while John placed his head on his chest.

"Yeah, it's a good thing you're so paranoid." he said with a chuckle. John grinned up at him and they both feel silent, thinking about that day six months ago.

Dave had been planning on going to a movie the day he was supposed to die, though he didn't know that. He had already bought the tickets and everything, but John distracted him by demanding he come over before the movie. Once he was there, John refused to let him leave, insisting that he could see the movie at a later date, and that this was more important. At the time, Dave had been annoyed and upset, but the next day it was revealed that there had been a shootout in the cinema Dave was going to be at and seven people had been killed. The guy committed suicide after the cops appeared, but John had just been overjoyed that Dave was still alive. His numbers had even reset, to a time far, far in the future.

"Yeah, good thing." John mumbled after a while, leaning up and kissing Dave once on the lips before going back to his original position curled up against his side. "Good thing indeed..."

When John Egbert was twenty-two, he felt like his blue bow tie was tied much too tight. To calm himself down, he began pulling at it nervously, his hands feeling like lead while they twirled the edges around in his fingertips.

"John, stop messing with your tie." Jade lectured, physically forcing him to put his hands at his sides. "I've already had to retie it three times." She said, tightening the bow even more. Did John mention how much he hated suits?

"Yeah, I know, but I'm just so nervous." he explained, looking in the mirror for the hundredth time to make sure everything was in perfect. He really didn't want to screw today up.

"Don't be John," Jade reassured softly, "It will all be fine, just go out there and try not to stutter too much on your vows, no matter how adorably dorky it is." she smiled with a wink.

"J-Jade!" he stuttered. Damn.

"I'm just kidding." she laughed briefly and then her expression melted from humor and laughter to pride and fondness, "I'm so proud of you..." she muttered under her breath, dusting some invisible lint of his shoulder and, despite himself, John's heart swelled with affection. Jade was the closest thing he had ever had to a mother. Sure, Rose was similar, but he saw her as more of a nagging sister. "Just look at you," Jade continued, stepping back to admire him in the rented suit, "my little cousin, all grown up and getting married, and to a great person too..." she trailed off, deep in thought, "I thought it would never happen, but now that the day is finally here, I just want you to promise you'll take care of each other, even-" John cut her off in mid-sentence, pulling Jade into a huge bear hug, her favorite kind.

"Don't talk like that," he whispered into her ear, "You're going to make me cry." His voice cracked and he could already feel Jade's tiny frame shivering with barely contained sobs, though the smile he could feel as she dug her face into his chest proved that she wasn't sad, "And for the last time," he ran a hand through her perfectly brushed hair, "we're not cousins."

She laughed and pulled away, opening her mouth to say something, but before she could the music from the piano started up outside and she winked at him again, calling, "Good luck!" before absconding through the doorway to take her seat.

Suddenly, the nervousness that had evaporated with Jade's presence was back and it hit him like a ton of bricks. He barely managed to make it to his place, right in front of a pair of heavy, golden doors, without fainting. He wasn't regretting saying yes, in fact he already had a list of names for possible future children, but what if he tripped or dropped the ring or forgot his speech or said someone else's name or-

His thoughts were suddenly cut off when the doors in front of him began to creak open and the piano music, courtesy of Jane, picked up the tempo. Swallowing his nervousness, John steeled himself for the long, excruciatingly painful walk down the aisle, but as it turns out, there was no need. The second the doors opened, his eyes immediately sought out Dave for moral support and there he was, standing at the end of the suddenly much shorter walkway, smirking that same damned Strider smirk that had reeled him in from their first meeting, even if his six year old self hadn't known it.

The walk down the aisle felt as if he was floating on air. John didn't feel the plush carpet under his feet or hear the deafening silence that had engulfed the room as everyone held their breath, all he could see was Dave. He had removed his shades and was wearing a bright red tie to bring out the color of his irises even more. It was about time, everyone had known that they were an abnormal color. Some would call it unholy, filthy, terrible, but to John they were none of those things. They were simply another part of Dave, another unique feature to make the one of a kind Strider he loved so much even more perfect.

Before John even knew it, he had reached the end of the aisle and Dave was holding out his hand to him, challenging him with his eyes to take it. He meet Dave's gaze head on and took hold of his hand, holding it tenderly as the priest preforming the marriage began speaking. Neither one of them broke eye-contact.

"Ahem," he began, "Dearly beloved and those who are only here for the cake," the guy was a joker, which was one of the reasons he had been hired, "we are gathered here today to witness two beautiful people exchange vows and seal their forever lasting love. If anyone can give a reason as to why these sappy love birds should not be wed, then please exit the room, because no body cares." That line earned him a small laugh from everyone in the room, and the grooms smiled a bit wider. The priest grinned and continued, serious now, "An essential requirement of a good marriage is a strong bond of friendship, trust and-" At that point, John began tuning him out, rehearsing the vows over and over in his head for better recollection later.

"Hey," he breathed softly, just loud enough for Dave to pick up with his sensitive ears, giving his hand a squeeze in case he didn't, "You look gorgeous." he said, once he was sure he had Dave's attention. His fiance blushed lightly. Clearly "gorgeous" wasn't a word he heard often directed at him.

"I know," Dave said matter-of-factly, and John half wanted to punch him and half wanted to kiss him, "but," he continued, regaining John's attention, "as great as I know I am, I pale in comparison to you." he flirted, face seductive but eyes completely serious. Once upon a time, a line like that would have made him laugh, but coming from Dave and with an expression like that, his legs felt weak and all he wanted to do was run his fingertips through that messy head of blonde hair and bring him close and kiss him until neither of them could breathe.

Unfortunately, he was in public with friends who would love blackmail material and he was trying to get married, so, having no other choice, he began listening to the priest again.

"The vows you are about to exchange," he was saying, and John tensed. It was almost time, "will serve as a verbal representation of the non-verbal emotions that are as real as anything that can be touched, seen or heard." He turned to John, gesturing with one hand at him, "John, your vows please." he instructed.

John took a deep breath and, being there, in front of Dave, doing this marriage thing for real, suddenly he remembered every line he had rehearsed in front of the bathroom mirror at three in the morning. He took the ring from the ring bearer and turned back to his soon-to-be husband.

"I, Jonathan Quincy Egbert," he began, using his full name like he and Dave had decided to do, "love you, David Elizabeth Strider, no matter what and without hesitation." He looked up into Dave's eyes, having just realized that he had been staring at their conjoined hands, "You are the most important thing in the world to me, the first priority, the first thing on my mind when I wake up, and the last thing I think of at night, and I promise to laugh with you, cry with you," Were those tears in Dave's eyes? "and to grow with you." he took a shuddering breath and continued, "I will still love you, even when you refuse to watch Nic Cage movies with me and hog all the bed sheets." Dave snickered, "and I w-will support your dreams," he stuttered. Damn. "and h-hold you through your nightmares. I-I will love you when we are together and when we are apart," now he really was crying, "I vow to be with you every day, until I breathe my last breath." He finished and slipped the simple gold ring onto the blonde's finger, looking up at Dave, who appeared to want to break down crying and kiss him at the same time. Instead, he just cupped his cheek and gently wiped away a stray tear that he hadn't even realized was there.

"I, David Elizabeth Strider," he began, removing his hand and reaching over to grab the ring, "promise you, Jonathan Quincy Egbert, t-to love and cherish you as you are." A tear slipped down his face, "You are the only thing that consumes my thoughts, y-you are the blood in my veins, and you are every second of the rest of my life. I am forever yours," He brought his and John's still connected hands up to his chest, "and, I vow to respect you as a person, a l-lover, a friend, and an equal." John swore his heart just melted. "I vow to bear with you the s-sorrows that life may bring us, and share together the things it will also bless us with." He bent down slightly and brushed his lips over John's knuckles, causing his stomach to flip-flop, "Before you were even aware of it, I-I was yours. I have never wanted anyone else as much as you and I am devoted to you in every way." he swallowed heavily and brought the ring up, "I marry you with no doubt or hesitation, my commitment and adoration of you is absolute and certain. With these words," he sucked in a breath, "I marry you and bind my life to yours." He slipped the ring onto John's finger.

They were both crying as they gave each other shaky smiles.

"Do you, Dave Strider, take John Egbert to be your husband?" the priest asked.

"I do." Dave said without blinking or hesitating.

"And do you, John Egbert, take Dave to be forever yours?"

"Yes. I mean, I do." John answered, blushing slightly while a few people in the audience laughed.

"Very well," he smiled at the both of them and closed the bible he had been reading from, "I now pronounce you husbands, you may kiss."  
And kiss they did. They kissed until it got a bit too heated for public and even as they cut the cake and fed it to each other, all John could think about was the many more they would share in the future. And somehow, as they slow danced to the final song of the night, John knew that it was finally over. Happiness was the only thing paved into his future. A future with Dave.

* * *

**Special thanks to kf1n3 on Deviantart, Swinbuku on YouTube****, and Rachel Ward for unknowingly helping this story.  
Also, I'm thinking about doing a sequel story about this where John and Dave are raising kids or something. I dunno. I'll probably only do that if enough people ask for it though, so meh. **


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